Indoor Herb Garden Kits and Herbal Remedies

LILIACEAE Allium sativum

Appearance
Garlic is a perennial herb with a bulb which is split into segments (Known as cloves), basal linear leaves and an erect stalk terminated by an umbel with numerous small bulbils between the purplish-white flowers. The flower cluster is encircled by a sheath (spathe) of papery bracts. The fruit is a capsule with black seeds; the seeds do not ripen in cultivated plants.

History
Surrounded by myth and legend, garlic is truly one of the oldest herbs, believed to have originated in Central Asia. It was used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to give vitality and stamina and it is still one of the world’s most useful culinary and medicinal plants.
Garlic has long been planted as a crucial vegetable, seasoning and medicinal herb.

Garlic’s name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon term garleac, from gar (= a spear) and leac (= a leek), supposedly meaning ‘a leek with cloves like spearheads’.

Garlic is a wonderful plant that played as great an role in the ancient spice trade as it does right now. Whether you like it or otherwise, there’s no escaping this useful herb.

Usage
ALWAYS CONSULT A MEDICAL EXPERT BEFORE BEGINNING A HOME TREATMENT; THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS IN NO WAY INTENDED TO REPLACE YOUR DOCTOR’S PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

• Garlic is a powerful medicinal herb with extraordinary antibiotic qualities. The bulb is used medicinally, either fresh, dried or otherwise prepared. It includes essential oils and iodine.
• It is a blood tonic and has strong antiviral properties.
• If taken routinely it will remove harmful build up within the blood, kidneys and liver.
• Under medical supervision it can be used to bring down high cholesterol and ease high blood pressure.
• It is an energizing cleanser, tonic and energizer – its hypotensive and cardiovascular activitv has been well investigated as has its antiseptic and expectorant effect on the entire respiratory system.
• It is used to deal with intestinal illness, hypertension and arteriosclerosis, and it helps digestion by stimulating bile secretions.
• Externally Garlic can be applied to insect bites, boils and unbroken chilblains, but it may cause an allergic rash if used for too long.
• Garlic has certainly come of age worldwide; once regarded as a smelly European ingredient it is now in demand in many countries and for a wide variety of foods. The phenomenal popularity in the last decades of Italian cuisine is possibly the single most significant reason for the renewed superstar status of garlic
• Chewing a leaf of basil, mint, parsley or thyme helps to cleanse the breath after eating garlic.

Propagation and harvesting
Breeding and selection has yielded countless types, which are propagated by planting the cloves in rows in prepared ground.

Autumn is the right time to plant garlic. Plant individual cloves 5-7cm apart in shallow trenches in well dug, richly composted soil and full sun.

When planting garlic make certain that the pointed end faces up.

Water your plants two or three times a week in hot weather conditions.

Your garlic is ready to harvest once the flat long leaves start to turn pale and papery. Tie the bulbs in bunches and suspend them in an airy structure to dry and develop the rich, pungent flavour that garlic is popular for.

Flowering time: July to September.(Northern Hemisphere)

Companion planting

• Parsley performs very well indeed when raised close to garlic and it is employed to clear the breath of garlic’s strong sulphur compounds.
• Additional excellent companion plants are beetroot, orange and lemon trees, lettuce, roses and even tomatoes.
• Grown around citrus fruit trees garlic forms an excellent barrier against caterpillars, borers and cutworms and aids in inhibiting leaf curl.
• It improves the taste of cherry tomatoes grown nearby and keep beetles and grasshoppers to a minimum.
• Do not plant garlic in near proximity to cabbages, beans, peas, strawberries or broccoli because they will not do well next to garlic.